Personal allowed number system

ABSTRACT

A system and method for preventing or facilitating communications between individuals who reside in detention environments (such as e.g., prisons or correctional facilities) and individuals who are not in such detention environments using an automated authentication or verification.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/530,331, filed on Sep. 1, 2011, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to communication systemsin detention environments, and more specifically to a system foridentifying phone numbers and individuals to prevent or facilitatecommunication between residents of detention facilities and unauthorizedoutside parties.

BACKGROUND

Detention environments, such as a jail, prison, detention facility,secured hospital, or addiction treatment facility, house largepopulations of individuals in confinement, which presents uniqueadministrative challenges. Notably, detention environments requireadditional levels of monitoring and oversight that are not required whensimilar services are provided to other populations. In monitoring andoverseeing a detention environment, a verification process to establishthe truth, accuracy, or validity of an individual's identity istypically required.

In detention environments, detained individuals frequently desire tocontact individuals outside the detention environment (outside parties)such as friends or family members. Many detention environment facilitiesuse an allowed contact list to control whom a detained individual maycontact on the outside. Allowed contact lists of this type are sometimesreferred to as PAN (personal allowed numbers) lists. Lists of this typehelp prevent inappropriate communications between detained individualsand outside parties who are not deemed appropriate for contact, such asvictims, witnesses, judges, and facility staff and their families. For adetained individual to add a name to their allowed contact list, thedetained individual is typically required to fill out a paper form orotherwise communicate his request with detention facility staff.

The verification process for verifying the appropriateness of theserequested contacts, when it is performed, typically falls on alreadyoverburdened facility staff. For example, to manually verify a proposedcontact, staff may need to research the individual or phone number in anumber of different databases. The staff may also need to call theproposed phone number. The accuracy of the information that is providedrelies on the honesty of the individual who provided the information(i.e., an inmate who is dishonest or may not know the correct spellingof the outside party's name), or it may rely on public recordsassociated with simple contact data such as, for example, the registeredowner of a telephone number.

Some existing PAN processes require a friend or family member to fillout a form containing, at a minimum, his or her own name, a contactnumber or email address, and often additional information, such as, forexample, a date of birth or physical address. If a form is used, theinformation is typically vetted by facility staff. Sometimes, theinformation is simply approved when time or labor is not available. Thevetting of requested contacts by staff is time consuming. If forms arefilled out by hand, they are usually hand-typed into a computer systemfor tracking and processing. To fulfill their obligation to the courtsand the public, facility staff check the information to ensure that: a)a potentially wide range of conditions are checked and confirmed, andalso result in permitted contact, b) the contact or the owner of thecontact number matches the information provided, and c) the intendedcontact grants permission to be contacted by or communicate with theinmate.

The above described processes are overall burdensome, time consuming andsubject to errors, which is undesirable. As such, there is a need anddesire for a better system and method for creating, monitoring andverifying personal approved number lists, particularly for a detentionenvironment.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to the automated management of anallowed contact list for detained individuals. Tracking communicationsbetween individuals who reside in a detention environment, such as adetention center, jail, or secure hospital, and outside parties is animportant component of detention environment security. In particular,the embodiments disclosed herein relate to the identity verification ofpeople outside a detention environment (i.e., “outside parties”) whowish to communicate with detained individuals, or to whom the detainedindividual wishes to communicate.

The best use of the disclosed system and methods is to verify theidentities, in an automated fashion, of friends and family members ofdetained individuals when a communication attempt is initiated betweenthe detained individual and one of those outside parties. Desirably, theverified identities are also compared with other data sources, such as alist of judges, jail staff, and victims, to further verify that acommunication between the parties is permitted. Additionally,information is subjected to rules, such as, without limitation, thefacility rules where the detained individual is detained, applicablecourt rules and/or laws, to name a few. For example, a rule may ensurethat a convicted sex offender is not contacting a minor. Moreover, it isdesirable that the detention facility's staff, or other investigators,are capable of using the verified identities of the outsideparties/individuals that are communicating with detainees or with whomsuch communication is attempted, as well as destination numberscontacted or attempted to be contacted, as part of futureinvestigations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a process flow for a person residing in a detentionenvironment who wishes to communicate with a person outside of thedetention environment, in accordance with an embodiment disclosedherein.

FIG. 2 shows the process flow for a person residing in a detentionenvironment who wishes to communicate with a person outside of thedetention environment, in accordance with an embodiment disclosedherein.

FIG. 3 shows the process flow for a person who does not reside in adetention environment (i.e., an outside party) who wishes to communicatewith a person residing in a detention environment, in accordance with anembodiment disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system constructed in accordance with anembodiment disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments disclosed herein automate the verification of new contactsfor detained individuals. Detained individuals can initiate the processof adding a new contact to their allowed contact list (i.e., a PAN list)simply by attempting to contact the outside party, such as through aphone call attempt, or video visit request. The embodiments disclosedherein subject the requested contact (i.e., the outside party) to anautomated verification process, which may request uniquely identifyinginformation, such as e.g., name, age and zip code, and checks thisinformation against available information sources (databases), forinformation such as e.g., known sex offenders, gang members, felons,facility employees, witnesses and victims.

Verification may include comparing provided information with informationavailable from both private and public databases including, but notlimited to, Line Information Databases (LIDB) information to find phonenumbers and address associations, Best Known Name and Address (BKNA)information to associate names with addresses, identificationverification information to match a provided name with digits of asocial security number or other unique participant-assigned number,national financial information with any existing financial records,national passport database, other government issued ID databases such asa drivers' license database, military ID database, state issued ID carddatabase, open warrants database, national victim notification networkssuch as VINE or VINELink, or “do not contact” databases.

As part of the enrollment process disclosed herein, the participant maybe required or permitted to establish a username and password, or aunique personal identification phrase, number, or series of characters.As part of one possible alternate process, a series of numbers, such asthe last four digits of the individual's social security number, may beused for future identification.

It may be the case that data, such as e.g., a phone number, associatedwith the verified individual, is found to be associated with previousphone calls or other communications made by a person in a detentionenvironment. If this is the case, then the system may associate thoseprevious communications with the new verified identity information,allowing the system to retroactively link a detained individual in adetention environment to a specific verified outside party through thephone number. Similar associations could be made through pastcommunications. Thus, it is possible to automatically populate a listentry based on data that already exists in another list, such as a listassociated with a different detained individual or a global list. Thiscan help prevent a list from containing incomplete information for aparty when additional information for that outside party is available onanother list and aid the approval process where the party has alreadybeen added to a different list. It also can aid in investigations byrecognizing that a party may be in contact with numerous detainedindividuals and allowing these connections to be identified.

At least two general types of allowed contact lists are describedherein. The first list is based on telephone numbers, wherein an allowedcall list comprises allowed phone numbers or other destination numbersand addresses (such as by way of example and not limitation, emailaddress, text number, social media account) that a detained individualmay contact/call. The second type of allowed contact list is based onthe identity of the outside person, wherein this allowed contact listcomprises individual identities, which may or may not be connected tospecific telephone numbers or other destination numbers or addresses.The process of initiating the automated verification of outside partiesmay be triggered by detained individuals, such as e.g., a detaineeattempting to make a telephone call to a new party, or may be triggeredby an outside party, such as a friend of family member, attempting toleave a voicemail for the first time for a newly detained individual.

The embodiments disclosed herein provide several advantages to aninvestigator trying to connect communications between detainedindividuals and outside parties. The verification of an outside party'sidentity allows an investigator to connect an inmate to a specificperson, rather than just a phone number, which may be answered by anyonewith access to the corresponding telephone. Moreover, an individual withmultiple phone numbers may be viewed immediately as a single person,rather than a series of contact addresses, which may represent multiplepersons. Additionally, by verifying an individual, it is easier to tietogether multiple contacts with multiple addresses, such as phonenumbers or email addresses, with multiple detainees and/or with otherassociated activities such as depositing funds for detained individuals,as further described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/490,054,filed on Jun. 6, 2012, entitled System and Method for IdentityVerification in a Detention Environment, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

Communication between those detained individuals residing in a detentionenvironment and outside parties according to the disclosed principlesincludes telephone calls, but may extend to other methods ofcommunication, as permitted by the associated detention facility, suchas e.g., text messages, online chat, video conferencing, email, socialmedia wall posts, or other form of digital or electronic communication.

The intent of the automated process described herein, is to provide anautomated means of adding approved contacts to a detained individual'spersonal allowed number (PAN)/contact list. The disclosed methods andsystem reduce labor for investigators and staff of detention facilities,and add information that may not be possible to obtain under atraditional manual PAN system. In addition to the automated techniquesdisclosed herein, contacts can also be added to a detained individual'spersonal allowed number (PAN)/contact list in other ways such as logginginto a website and providing identifying information that can beverified against various databases as discussed herein relative to theautomated techniques.

FIG. 1 illustrates a method performed in accordance with the aboveprinciples. The method begins by detecting that a detained individual isattempting to contact a destination number (step 101). The method thenchecks the destination number against the detained individual's currentpersonal allowed number/contact list (step 102). It is also possible tocheck the destination number against a global list or to check thedestination number against one or more lists associated with one or moreother detained individuals. In doing so, it is possible to determine ifthe destination number is verified and approved for contact even when itdoes not appear on a list specific to the detained individual or in theinstance where the detained individual has not yet developed his ownallowed number/contact list. Other rules and block lists can be used todisallow contacts in which one detained individual is allowed to contacta specific party while another detained individual is prohibited fromcontacting that party. Those rules and mechanisms are not the focus ofthis disclosure and thus are not discussed in detail herein. If there isa match, the communication is authenticated at step 104 and thecommunication is permitted at step 109. It should be noted that if thereis no match at step 102, or if the detained individual does not yet havea personal allowed number/contact list, the method will continue at step103, where an enrollment process begins. Specifically, at step 103,enrollment questions are posed to the party associated with thedestination number. This enrollment process can be accomplished in manyways, including but not limited to, an interactive voice response (IVR)system or through communications with a customer service representative.An enrollment verification process is then performed at step 105. If theenrollment verification process is denied, the method continues at step108, where the attempted communication is terminated.

If, however, the enrollment verification process is valid, the methodcontinues at step 106 to determine if the detention environment'sfacility rules will allow the communication (e.g., phone call). Facilityrules can be rules defined by the facility, but can also be any rules,including but not limited to rules imposed by state or federalgovernments, the courts or sentencing guidelines. Furthermore, otherrules checks can be performed at various stages of the process in orderto ensure all communication guidelines are met. For instance, it ispossible to check the destination number against a block list specificto the detained individual or a global “do not call” list between steps101 and 102 to prevent unwanted contact. Thus, while the rules check 106is shown at a specific point in the process it can be performed at otherpoints in the process and may include multiple rules checks. If therules will allow the communication, the destination number is added tothe detained individual's allowed number/contact list (or if thedetained individual does not yet have a personal allowed number/contactlist, a list is created and the destination number and correspondinginformation is added to the list) at step 107 and the communication ispermitted at step 109. If, however, the detention environment's facilityrules will not allow the communication (at step 106), the methodcontinues at step 108, where the attempted communication is terminated.

FIG. 2 illustrates another method performed in accordance with the aboveprinciples. The method begins by detecting that a detained individual isattempting to contact an outside party (step 201). The method thenchecks the outside party's information against the detained individual'scurrent personal allowed number/contact list (step 202) or other listsas discussed above relative to FIG. 1. If there is a match, thecommunication is authenticated at step 204 and the communication ispermitted at step 209. It should be noted that if there is no match atstep 202, or if the detained individual does not yet have a personalallowed number/contact list, the method will continue at step 203, wherean enrollment process begins. Specifically, at step 203, enrollmentquestions are posed to the outside party. An enrollment verificationprocess is then performed at step 205. If the enrollment verificationprocess is denied, the method continues at step 208, where the attemptedcommunication is terminated.

If, however, the enrollment verification process is valid, the methodcontinues at step 206 to determine if the detention environment'sfacility rules will allow the communication to the outside party (e.g.,phone call). The rules can include the same types of rules discussedabove relative to step 106. If the detention environment's facilityrules will allow the communication, the outside party and any associatedinformation is added to the detained individual's allowed number/contactlist (or if the detained individual does not yet have a personal allowednumber/contact list, a list is created and the outside party andcorresponding information is added to the list) at step 207 and thecommunication is permitted at step 209. If, however, the detentionenvironment's facility rules will not allow the communication (at step206), the method continues at step 208, where the attemptedcommunication is terminated.

FIG. 3 illustrates another method performed in accordance with the aboveprinciples. The method begins by detecting that an outside party, suchas the friend or family member of a detained individual, is attemptingto contact the detained individual (step 301). The method then checksthe provided contact information against the detained individual'scurrent personal allowed number/contact list (step 302). If there is amatch, the communication is authenticated at step 304 and thecommunication is permitted at step 309. It should be noted that if thereis no match at step 302, or if the detained individual does not yet havea personal allowed number/contact list, the method will continue at step303, where an enrollment process begins. Specifically, at step 303,enrollment questions are posed to the friend, family member or otheroutside party. An enrollment verification process is then performed atstep 305. If the enrollment verification process is denied, the methodcontinues at step 308, where the attempted communication is terminated.

If, however, the enrollment verification process is valid, the methodcontinues at step 306 to determine if the detention environment'sfacility rules will allow the communication (e.g., phone call) from thefriend, family member or other outside party. The rules can include thesame types of rules discussed above relative to steps 106 and 206. Ifthe detention environment's facility rules will allow the communication,then the friend, family member or other outside party and correspondinginformation are added to the detained individual's allowednumber/contact list (or if the detained individual does not yet have apersonal allowed number/contact list, a list is created and the friend,family member or other outside party and corresponding information areadded to the list) at step 307 and the communication is permitted atstep 309. If, however, the detention environment's facility rules willnot allow the communication (at step 306), the method continues at step308, where the attempted communication is terminated.

For security purposes it also possible to require a party to answersecurity questions or otherwise verify their identity prior to allowinga communication between the party and a detained individual. Byutilizing this additional information, rather than relying merely, forinstance, on a telephone number, the system and methods disclosed hereinare capable of verifying that the party is actually the individual whomhas been approved for contact and is not simply calling from or beingcalled at an approved party's telephone.

The aforementioned methods may be performed by a system such as the onedisclosed in in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/490,054. FIG. 4 is adiagram illustrating an example embodiment of such a system 400according to aspects of the present disclosure. The system 400 includesa server 403 comprising a database 404, a verification system 405, andan input system 406. The server 403 is programmed to perform one, all,or a combination of the methods discussed above. The database 404 ispopulated with identity information from various data sources 401, suchas, a public database 401(1) or a private database 401(2). As discussedabove, the public databases 401(1) may include a Line InformationDatabases, Best Known Name and Address database, social securitydatabase, national financial information database, national passportdatabase, government issued identification database, warrants database,national victim network database, or “do not contact” database. Privatedatabases 401(2) may include databases aggregated by the detentionenvironment itself. In some cases the identity information from the datasource 401 existed prior to the individual's interaction with theindividual subject to the detention environment. The database 404 mayalso be populated by the data sources upon command, at intervals, ordynamically.

The system 400 is preferably compatible with data sources 401, such ase.g., the interactive audio/video system and device for use in adetention environment disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/088,883, the consolidated voicemail platform disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/826,168, an information exchange facilitatingsystem such as e.g., the secure social network disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/438,940, each of which is hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

When an individual inputs information through one of the disparatesystems 402 for managing detention environment interactions, such as ajail management system 402(1) or call screening system 402(2), theserver 403 receives that information through its input system 406. Theverification system 405 takes the information obtained through the inputsystem 406 and verifies the identifying information by matching it withthe information stored in the database 404.

In accordance with the practices of persons skilled in the art ofcomputer programming, embodiments of the methods are described withreference to operations that are performed by a computer system or alike electronic system. Such operations are sometimes referred to asbeing computer-executed. It will be appreciated that operations that aresymbolically represented include the manipulation by a processor, suchas a central processing unit, of electrical signals representing databits and the maintenance of data bits at memory locations, such as insystem memory, as well as other processing of signals. The memorylocations where data bits are maintained are physical locations thathave particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic propertiescorresponding to the data bits. Embodiments may also encompassintegrated circuitry including circuit elements capable of performingspecific system operations.

When implemented in a programmed device or system, the elements of theembodiments are essentially the code segments to perform the necessarytasks. The non-transitory code segments may be stored in a processorreadable medium or computer readable medium, which may include anymedium that may store or transfer information. Examples of such mediainclude an electronic circuit, a semiconductor memory device, aread-only memory (ROM), a flash memory or other non-volatile memory, afloppy diskette, a CD-ROM, an optical disk, a hard disk, a fiber opticmedium, etc. User input may include any combination of a keyboard,mouse, touch screen, voice command input, etc. User input may similarlybe used to direct a browser application executing on a user's computingdevice to one or more network resources, such as web pages, from whichcomputing resources may be accessed.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that those embodiments have been presented by way of exampleonly and are not meant to limit the claims below. Thus, the breadth andscope of the invention should not be limited by the specific embodimentsdiscussed above, but only according to the claims and their equivalents.

1. A computerized method of identifying a called party comprising: authenticating a detained individual's login credential; receiving a called telephone number; checking the telephone number against a database of allowed call numbers; if the number is not in the database, calling the telephone number and: receiving information from the called party; checking received information against a remote database to verify the information; and if the information is not verified, asking additional questions; and if the information is verified, adding the number to the database of allowed call numbers.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received information is a photograph of the called party and a scan of a driver's license.
 3. A method of establishing a list of allowed destination numbers to which a detained individual residing in a detention environment is permitted to communicate, said method comprising: detecting a contact initiated by a detained individual to a destination number; automatically checking the destination number to determine if the destination number is on at least one of the list of allowed destination numbers associated with the detained individual, a list of allowed destination numbers associated with one or more different detained individuals or a general list of allowed destination numbers; if the destination number is not on one of the lists of allowed destination numbers checked: conducting an initial enrollment process for a recipient associated with the detected contact, and automatically adding the destination number to the listed of allowed destination numbers associated with the detained individual if information received from the contact recipient during the enrollment process is approved; and if the destination number is on one of the lists of allowed destination numbers, permitting the communication to the destination number.
 4. The method of claim 3 further comprising, on subsequent contacts, automatically permitting contacts from the detained individual to the destination number on the list of allowed destination numbers without requiring the recipient associated with the contact to go through the enrollment process again.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the destination number added to the allowed list of destination numbers is a phone number.
 6. The method of claim 3, further comprising, on detecting subsequent communication between the detained individual and the approved outside party, authenticating the subsequent communication with one or more security questions.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein if the detained individual and the outside party are still available after the outside party is initially added to the detained individual's allowed contact list, said method allows the communication to take place.
 8. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of automatically adding the destination number to the list of allowed destination numbers associated with the detained individual further includes comparing the information received from the contact recipient during the enrollment process to information in one or more remote databases.
 9. A method of adding approved individuals to an approved contact list containing contacts with whom a detained individual residing in a detention environment is permitted to communicate, said method comprising: detecting a communication initiated between the detained individual and an outside party who is not a resident of the detention environment, attempting to authenticate the outside party by automatically comparing provided information with information within at least one of the approved contact list associated with the detained individual, an approved contact list associated with one or more different detained individuals or a general list of allowed contact numbers, and automatically attempting to verify the identity of the outside party by requesting personal identifying data if no match, verifying the provided information against information in a remote database and applicable rules, and if the identity of the outside party is verified and the rules permit communication with the outside party, adding information about the outside party to the approved contact list associated with the detained individual.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the detected communication comprises a phone call.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the detected communication comprises a text message, online chat, video conference, email, social media wall post, or other digital communication.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein if the detained individual and the outside party are still available after the outside party is initially added to the detained individual's allowed contact list, said method allows the communication to take place.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the remote database comprises one or more of a Line Information Databases, a Best Known Name and Address (BKNA) database, an Identification verification database, a National financial database, a national passport database, a drivers' license database, military ID database, state issued ID card database, open warrants database, a national victim notification network, or a “do not contact” database.
 14. A system for adding approved individuals to an approved contact list containing contacts with whom a detained individual residing in a detention environment is permitted to communicate, said system comprising: an input system; a database; and a verification system; wherein the input system, the database, and the verification system are configured to: detect a communication initiated between the detained individual and an outside party who is not a resident of the detention environment, attempt to authenticate the outside party by automatically comparing provided information with information within at least one of an approved contact list associated with the detained individual, an approved contact list associated with one or more different detained individuals or a general approved contact list, and automatically attempt to verify the identity of the outside party by requesting personally identifying data if no match, verify the provided information against information in a remote database and applicable rules, and if the identity of the outside party is verified and the rules permit communication with the outside party, add information about the outside party to the approved contact list associated with the detained individual.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the detected communication comprises a phone call.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the detected communication comprises a text message, online chat, video conference, email, social media wall post, or other digital or electronic communication.
 17. The system of claim 14, wherein if the detained individual and the outside party are still available after the outside party is initially added to the detained individual's allowed contact list, said method allows the communication to take place. 